VOLUSIA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REVIEW

Mainland tops DeLand

In a defensive battle, Mainland outlasted DeLand 19-3 at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach last week.

Mainland High School’s offense lines up against DeLand High’s defense during a game last week at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach.

“We had Jontay Byrd and Quinton Powell back this week, which made a big difference. They are our defensive captains. Our defense played extremely well,” said Mainland Head Coach Scott Wilson.

DeLand Head Coach Al Manning remarked, “Our defense played extensively well except for a few big plays. They definitely kept us in the ball game as we made too many mistakes on offense.’’

Father Lopez transfer Anthony Ludivico had a big impact for Mainland running for 164 yards and two touchdowns.

Lodivico’s 54-yard touchdown run gave Mainland a 9-3 lead with 2:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Turnovers and penalties
The Bucs took control at 16-3 after Ludivico broke loose again this time for a 65-yard score with 3:10 remaining in the third period.

Both teams had opportunities but failed to capitalize on the other’s mistakes due to turnovers and penalties. DeLand committed six turnovers while Mainland had four.

DeLand’s JoJo Kemp rolls over after being tackled by Mainland’s Dwayne Copeland (24) at Municipal Stadium last week.

“We had a lot of mistakes with executing on the offensive end. We often didn’t block well and we didn’t take care of the football,” added Manning.

Scott echoed, “I think both teams had a lot of nerves at the beginning, especially with our young players.”

The Bucs’ defense, which was led by Powell and Byrd, held DeLand’s Jojo Kemp to just 53 yards rushing.

Robinson threw for 146 yards with two interceptions while Dantwan O’Neal had five catches for 122 yards for the Bulldogs.

Chris Miglioranzi kicked field goals of 25 and 34 yards, Lavonte Howard and Chris Scott each had an interception for Mainland.

Christian Patel’s 37-yard field goal was the lone score for DeLand.

Football roundup
Trevaughn Rodriguez ran for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead Seabreeze past Spruce Creek 48-13. Charles Nelson added 88 yards rushing with two scores and Connor Blair threw for 177 yards with a touchdown for the Sandcrabs.

Craig Peludat threw for 256 yards with two scores for Creek. Eugene McGirt added 171 receiving yards with a touchdown and Michael Colubiale had 49 yards receiving with a score for the Hawks.

Marcus Dixon ran for 54 yards with three touchdowns as Warner Christian blanked Jacksonville Temple Christian 80-0. Demarious Tillmon added 60 yards rushing with three scores and James Harris had an interception return touchdown for Warner. Bentlee Critter also had three scores (one receiving, one kickoff return and one interception return) for the Eagles.

Marcus Johnson threw for 103 yards and ran for a touchdown while D’Cota Dixon ran for 46 yards with a score to lead New Smyrna to a 15-12 win over Titusville Astronaut. The Barracudas defense held the War Eagles to 117 yards.

Alex Bell threw for 175 yards with four touchdowns as Atlantic defeated Crescent City 28-7. The Sharks defense also forced five turnovers.

This week’s top games
New Smyrna (1-0) at DeLand (0-1): Two talented teams square off, which means that this could be a thriller.

Seabreeze (1-0) at Flagler Palm Coast (1-0): Sandcrabs go on the road to face a tough Bulldogs team that also won big last week. Seabreeze has plenty of weapons but FPC is talented too.

Mainland (1-0) at Orlando Jones (1-0): The Buccaneers face a talented and athletic Tigers squad. Mainland will have to play better offensively to win.

Spruce Creek (0-1) at University (1-0): A big game for both teams as two of county’s largest schools battle in Deltona. The Hawks are coming off a loss while the Titans won big last week. Both teams have numbers.

Atlantic (1-0) at Pine Ridge (0-1): Atlantic faces the larger school in Deltona, but the Sharks are the favorites to win. Can they stay focused?

Father Lopez (0-1, 0-0) at Warner (1-0, 0-0): These two small private schools play in their district opener. This game could get ugly or maybe Lopez is fired up to make it a game.